COLUMBIA, Md. — The families of two murder victims are suing a GPS monitoring company who was responsible for keeping their alleged killer off the streets.
Back in February Michael Robertson, 16, and Blake McCray, 15, were gunned down outside the Mall in Columbia.
Emmetson Zeah, 18, was arrested days later, and reportedly confessed to the shootings without providing a motive.
Howard County Police, however, do believe both teen victims were targeted.
It wasn't Zeah's first run-in with law enforcement.
At the time of the killings, Zeah was on a court ordered GPS monitor operated by the company Advantage Sentencing Alternative Program, which local courts use to track those on home detention who've either been convicted of a crime or are awaiting trial.
In Zeah's case, he'd already been suspected of another prior shooting incident and stabbing.
This month, as a result of a Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services investigation, ASAP surrendered its license to operate as a Private Home Detention Monitoring Agency in the State of Maryland, according to DPSCS spokesperson Keith Martucci.
Although it was the GPS monitoring device that ultimately led police to Zeah, the victims family attorney, David Ellin, said “the company’s negligence created an unacceptable and foreseeable risk.”
But the lawsuit also names Zeah's parent, who allegedly signed off to supervise him, but is accused of being the one that took him to the mall the night of the murder.
RELATED: Court ordered GPS monitoring leads police to alleged Columbia Mall shooter
A lot of how the process plays out is dictated by Maryland Senate Bill 468, which passed in 2024.
It requires the monitoring company to immediately notify the court and probation office of a violation after the person has been undetected for 24 hours.
“Families and communities should be able to trust that court-ordered monitoring means active supervision," added fellow attorney, Jeremy Eldridge.
When asked how they respond when notified by the GPS of an offender violating their home detention, Howard County Police told us this.
"If a law enforcement agency is notified of a home detention violation, officers conduct an investigation to determine if a violation occurred and/or a crime has been committed. If confirmed, the defendant may be charged under state law with: Second Degree Escape, Criminal and/or Violation of Pretrial Release."
WMAR-2 News has reached out to ASAP Inc, about the lawsuit and is waiting to hear back.
Zeah is set to go on trial January 26.
